About

Justyn Smith is a husband to one amazing wife and father to five beautiful children. They recently moved to Minneapolis after having lived on the West Coast for 31 years. Justyn is the Family Ministry Pastor at River Valley Church. He is an advocate for the local church who believes the local church is the hope of the world. Justyn has recently been named one of “Children’s Ministry Magazine’s” Top 20 to Watch. You can also follow him at justynsmith.com, twitter/pastorjustyn and facebook/pastorjustyn.

What Others Are Saying

Justyn Smith is a young gun to watch. He’s been on my radar for several years. His approach to children’s ministry is fresh and innovative. It’s incredible to see how God is using Justyn…If Justyn is not on your radar he should be. —Jim Wideman, World Outreach Church jimwideman.com

Justyn Smith is a forward thinking, inspired leader. His entrepreneurial spirit led to one of the most exciting venues for young, innovative church leaders to share, learn and grow together-The Napkin Conference. His passion to develop people in ministry has created a ripple effect around the globe causing us to all be more effective in leading kids and families to know Jesus. You won’t want to miss an opportunity to spend time hearing from Justyn and his friends in ministry. —Allyson Evans, Lifechurch.tv lifekids.tv

Justyn Smith is a passionate young man who invests a huge amount of energy into seeing children reached with the Gospel and the local Church grown…. —David Wakerley, Hillsong Church davidwakerley.com

If you asked me for a list of the 20 most creative children’s pastors in America, Justyn Smith would make the cut. His approach to ministry is relevant, current, and most importantly, grounded in the Word of God. Justyn is a growing leader in the field of children’s ministry and is part of a great church where lives are being changed, both young and old. On top of that, he dresses really cool and wears nice sunglasses. —Ryan Frank, Children’s Pastor, K! Magazine Editor www.kidzmatter.com

Justyn Smith has a heart to reach this generation of kids and their families. I believe in his passion to reach his community…I’m so excited about his desire to invest in leaders around the country with the Napkin Conference. Definitely tune in to what this leader and church has to say because they are impacting lives and families successfully! —Yancy, Music Artist yancynotnancy.com

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Hey,
I read your profile in K magazine, and you mentioned that you are offering kids services online, and activity sheets to boot! That’s very cool. I searched your website but was unable to find your streaming page. I’d love to check out some of your services. (iron sharpens iron)

We have been streaming our kids services for a year or so, and I would love to talk with you sometime about what you guys are offering your church families. If you want to check out our services: http://ccstkzm.gcmsvideo.com/

Hi, Justyn! You twittered a couple of days ago about ideas for the Napkin Conference. If it’s not too late, I’ll throw one in the hat. I could use help with getting out kid’s outreach off the napkin and into reality. How do I get my kids involved in the community outreach? In churches that are doing this successfully, do they have a leader who oversees just outreaches? Do the parents have to attend with the kids? What about transportation? How often can you do this?

I have a dream; a napkin, of a monthly event, that all the k5-5th grade kids can join together, and do something for someone outside the church. I think it’s vital that kids learn the joy of doing for others young, so they can continue being blessed and blessing others as they grow. It becomes part of their life, almost second nature. They don’t think self-centeredly.

Great questions and thoughts! I’ll be keeping all our questions we get–including this one and send it to our special guest moderators for some great answers. If you have more questions or ideas, keep ’em coming!
Thanks.
PJ

I thought you and your blog readers would be interested in knowing about new small group curriculum coming from Group Publishing. My guess is that many of the children’s ministry people who visit your blog are familiar with Group’s FaithWeaver line. This is a new addition to the line and is geared towards helping reach parents.

For additional information including a press release and sampler, please contact me through my Web site at: http://www.sidedoorcom.net